Police: Operations - Special Operations

To support the City of Rochester’s Mission, Vision, and Values by managing the Special Operations Division.

Critical Processes:

• Provides investigative support and services necessary for effective operation of the department
• Provides specialized field support services

Critical Processes:

• Comprised of Major Crimes Unit, Special Victims Unit, Investigative Support Unit, and Technicians Unit Investigates suspicious and criminal deaths
• Investigates cold case murders
• Investigates physical and sexual child abuse cases
• Participates in Federal Task Force investigations to include bank robbery and cyber-criminal investigations
• Investigates arsons in conjunction with the Rochester Fire Department
• Processes licenses issued by the City of Rochester to include pistol permit applicants, alarm ordinances, taxi-cabs, and food trucks
• Processes all crime scenes and collects physical evidence throughout the City

Critical Processes:

• Enhances current internal and external communications initiatives and develops a long-term communications strategy with the goal of improving police-community relations
• Partners with community leaders, civic organizations, block associations, and citizens to educate them on police policies and practices, and to develop solutions to challenges that arise within the city's many diverse communities
• Works closely with our communities and ensures that RPD's priorities mirror local priorities in an effort to build trust, confidence, and legitimacy within the communities we serve, creating additional opportunities for relationships to develop in a non-enforcement encounter with all segments of our community (youth & adults)
• Allows communities to have a voice at the local level in how they are policed and how they are engaged, thus establishing meaningful, structured, and sustained initiatives within the community, while at the same time working to reduce crime through police-community partnerships and improve perceptions of the police
• Informs community members and local businesses about crime trends, while working with them on preventative measures and security
• Provides valuable information about topics such as safeguarding businesses, homes, vehicles, and personal property
• Works to improve the perception of the Police Department via engagement opportunities and initiatives that are collaboratively community and department driven
• Manages the department's recruitment efforts to increase interest and participation in the Police Officer exam utilizing diversity, equity and inclusion strategies

Critical Processes:

• Investigates illegal narcotics activities, vice, illegal gambling, illegal weapons, trafficking, and organized crime
• Provides surveillance and intelligence services in support of investigations
• Participates in joint task forces with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies
• Suppresses illegal drug trafficking activities from street level up to and including major criminal conspiracy efforts
• Provides and supports technical surveillance equipment used in investigative efforts
• Conducts activities such as Project Exile, weapon tracing, and weapon crime intelligence

Critical Processes:

• Comprised of the Tactical Unit, K-9 Unit, Mounted Patrol Unit, and Traffic Enforcement Unit
• Provides directed patrol, crime-specific details, proactive investigative efforts, surveillance and apprehension details, and Honor Guard services
• Provides canine support services for building searches and tracking, as well as in nitrate and narcotic searches
• Provides highly visible patrol and crowd control presence Downtown, at special events, and elsewhere as needed
• Enforces vehicle and parking regulations
• Coordinates the School Traffic Officer program
• Conducts alcohol-related enforcement counter measures and proactive traffic direction and control throughout the city
• Handles complaints or suggestions concerning traffic-engineering deficiencies and transmits related data to Traffic Control Board

Two Police Officers and the supplies budget for the Recruitment Program are transferred from Administration.